Address by Barrett at the Robert Frost 100th Anniversary Exhibition, 1974

Robert Frost and Clifton Waller Barrett

The Robert Frost Collection assembled by Clifton Waller Barrett is one of the pre-eminent Frost collections. Mr. Barrett recounts many fascinating experiences of his collecting in an essay, "On Collecting Robert Frost," published in Joan St. C. Crane's Robert Frost: a Descriptive Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts in the Clifton Waller Barrett Library, University of Virginia:

"In my own case, a career of some thirty-five years has been devoted to forming a comprehensive assemblage of American literature from the beginnings of the Republic to the present day. In doing so I have engaged in gathering some 1000 single-author collections with the intention to make them as complete as possible. Robert Frost, preeminent poet of our times, stands high in the ranks of these American writers, and accordingly, much time and attention has been devoted to the gathering of as complete a collection of his books and manuscripts as possible. Herein lies one of the most exciting activities of the collector: the location and acquisition of great rarities.

The thrill of the chase grips the collector, and when success crowns his efforts he naturally has a euphoric feeling of accomplishment. The pursuit of the sole surviving copy of Robert Frost's first book, Twilight, occupied ten years from 1950 to 1960, as will be described further on, and it might be said that the acquisition of the unique first book of a world famous poet is the supreme experience of a collector."